The Submission

General hateful mayhem against Muslims continues in the United States—beyond scarf-pullings, people are now placing animal feces on the doors of mosques and protesting with pig roasts. Rumors abound—for example, that the United Arab Emirates has bought the rights to the memorial. But the Muslim community continues its vigilance, and young Muslim boys patrol their own neighborhoods, protecting scarfed women. Jihadist threats rise at home and abroad. All this forms the backdrop for Mo’s public hearing, which both the FBI and NYPD recommend calling off. Mo and Paul, however, wish to proceed.

Mo is disappointed that his new lawyer Scott Reis isn’t visible in the crowd. Reis’s firm was responsible for the leaks that Mo is now retaining a high-powered $500-per-hour lawyer, making the public all the more suspicious as to where the money is coming from. The truth is it is coming from Mo’s father’s retirement account. The law firm believes that any publicity is good publicity, but Mo insists on no advertising.

Mo visits Thomas, his wife Alice, and their kids. Alice, still very angry about Mo’s betrayal, places new conditions on his forgiveness, one being to help Petey build a space needle out of Legos. On the TV, Malik and Sarge argue over whether Mo should withdraw his design, which brings the question up with the Kroll family. Mo asks Alice directly whether she thinks he should withdraw. Alice says if he were any other Muslim she’d say yes, but he isn’t—he’s their Muslim.

In preparation for the hearing Mo cuts his hair and shaves his beard. He has mixed feelings about the act. When he approaches the hall, he is humiliated by a thorough search. Paul “rescues” him by referring to him as the guest of honor.

Mo feels very proud of the model of his garden that has been on display for a week bearing an American flag. It doesn’t help anything, though, when he gives a speech analyzing the features of the garden and laying out the history of gardens in the Middle East, saying that, if anything, his garden’s influence predates the Muslim period—that these sorts of gardens actually inspired the Quran. Visible in the audience, Claire Burwell avoids his eyes. Ariana, however, gives him an encouraging smile. Because he can’t remember all he wants to say, Mo ends his speech abruptly. Throughout the speech the rowdy crowd heckles Mo, with Paul only half-heartedly trying to settle them down.

A group called US PEAK has been commissioned to handle the hearing’s public portion. They suggested bringing an element of democracy to the decision-making process. The speeches from the crowd are mostly negative, arguing against Islam and anything to do with it. Surprisingly, the only attack on Mo personally comes when the last speaker yells “murderer!” The participants seem to know little if nothing about Mo himself. Debbie Dawson is present with her publicity stunts maligning Islam. Some more educated people in attendance discuss the garden in terms of the architecture of a memorial, touching on the history of Middle Eastern gardens and the fact that the Twin Towers had aspects that were clearly influenced by Islamic art. The scene ends when a dark-skinned woman raises her arm high in the air, demanding to speak.